‘Clean your hearts’ and move ahead: Pakistan Foreign Minister Dar to Bangladesh on ‘unresolved issues’ of 1971

NEW DELHI

Bangladesh should “clean” its heart and move ahead by leaving the “unresolved issue” of Pakistan’s accountability in the atrocities committed by the Pakistani military in 1971, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, said in Dhaka on Sunday (August 24, 2025).

Mr. Dar, the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan to visit Bangladesh in more than a decade, met Professor Mohammed Yunus, Chief Adviser to the government of Bangladesh, and met the Ameer of Jamaat-E-Islami, Shafiqur Rahman, on Sunday (August 24, 2025). Pakistan and Bangladesh also signed a treaty that will allow diplomats and officials of both sides to travel without visas.

“In 1974, that issue was resolved, and the document is historic and available in both countries. After that, General Musharraf came here and addressed this [issue] in a candid manner, and I think even Islam tells us to clean your hearts,” Mr. Dar said after holding talks with the interim government’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Touhid Hossein.

The issue of accountability of Pakistan for the atrocities of 1971 has been a long-standing obstacle in normalising ties. Mr. Dar indirectly referred to the Tripartite Agreement of 1974 signed by Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, where Pakistan had acknowledged the involvement of its military in the atrocities, and referred to the “regret” expressed by General Musharraf during his 2002 visit of Dhaka, but his hosts did not fully agree with the assessment of 1971.

Mr. Hossein said: “We want accountability, reparations. We want Pakistan to express remorse and seek forgiveness for the mass killings that took place here”. He also acknowledged that China is supportive of Pakistan-Bangladesh bilateral ties.

“China is enthusiastic about this bilateral relationship. Pakistan is also enthusiastic about this relationship. But the earlier government willingly held back Bangladesh-Pakistan relations, and we want Bangladesh to have the same kind of relations with Pakistan in the way it maintains relation with other countries,” Mr. Hossein said.

Mr. Dar’s visit is the first bilateral visit by a Pakistani Foreign Minister in nearly 13 years. In 2012, Hina Rabbani Khar, then Foreign Minister of Pakistan, visited Bangladesh to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit Islamabad to participate in the D-8 (Developing – 8) summit.

Both sides signed MoUs on setting up a Joint Working Group on trade and on increasing cooperation between the Foreign Service Academies of both sides. Separately, government-owned news agencies of both sides — the BSS (Bangladesh Sangbad Shansthan) and the APPC (Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation) — agreed to step up collaboration.

Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and Pakistan’s Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) also signed an MoU on cooperation. “These agreements will institutionalise and further strengthen the bilateral cooperation in trade and economics, training of diplomats, academic exchanges, media cooperation and cultural exchanges,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.

Pakistan also announced the launch of the “Pakistan-Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor”, under which 500 students from Bangladesh will receive scholarships to study in Pakistan over the next five years. “Additionally, training for 100 Bangladeshi civil servants will be arranged during the same period. Pakistan has also decided to increase the scholarships allocated to Bangladeshi students under Pakistan Technical Assistance Program from 5 to 25,” said MoFA, Islamabad.

As a special gesture, Mr. Dar visited Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islam at his residence and enquired about his health as Mr. Rahman had a cardiac surgery recently. Later in the evening, he also visited former Prime Minister and leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party Khaleda Zia at her residence.